Weckla oder Weggla, take your pick...

Gropius and I enjoyed an Oktoberfest dinner this evening. I bought some bratwurst at Whole Foods (made by Coleman in Denver, CO) that turned out quite tasty. We had a weckla (bratwurst on a sourdough roll) with some tasty sauerkraut.




I had a nice chardonnay from NM with dinner (the remnants from making sauerkraut). We enjoyed some tasty, tasty senf that Ta-Chen bought for us at Ben's German butcher. Gropius thoughtfully pointed out that the size is perfect as a bierglas for Lulu once she gets a little older. Sigh.



Gropius on the other hand, had bier.


Here is the original of what we were striving for:

Jerk Chicken

We used two of the habaneros from our garden to make Jerk Chicken and Jamaican Peas and Rice for dinner last night. I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's TV show (pre-prison) about 10 years ago and make it when I have access to habaneros (or am feeling particularly spicy). I think she tries to test my endurance though: two habaneros PLUS cayenne pepper! For a change of pace because it was hot yesterday, we grilled the chicken breasts rather than baking them in the oven with the marinade (and I think that helped with the overall heat level).



For an accompaniment, we also made Jamaican Peas and Rice. I started with dried kidney beans and did a quick soak with my pressure cooker before starting the recipe. I cooked them with coconut milk, water, and garlic for ~20 minutes before draining them and reserving the cooking liquid. Then, I cooked the brown rice separately with my pressure cooker in the cooking liquid and mixed it all together at the end. It's amazing that so few ingredients can become so tasty!



To help quench our (considerable) thirst, I had some Two Rivers Pomegranate Cider--the one I enjoy drinking at the Rubicon. You'll also notice the HUGE glass of water to supplement. Gropius, on the other hand, enjoyed a "proper" serving of bier. :) (I think it was HB Oktoberfest)

Zwetschgendatschi

So, I tried my hand at making Zwetschegendatschi this morning while Lulu took her nap. I was inspired by Nicky's blog entry over at deliciousdays.com. We had some "french plums" in the fridge and I thought, "Ah, what the heck." So, here you go.

preparatory steps for baking included boiling and peeling raw almonds and quartering the plums. The dough was surprisingly easy to make, too.



I only had enough plums to make about half the recipe, so I baked it in Gropius's springform tart pan. Don't the plums look pretty?



Again, I only had raw almonds, so I had to "sliver" them myself:


Finished product!


The dough was so easy to make, that I think I'm going to make it again tomorrow morning for breakfast, but I think this time I'm going to use my chestnut spread/paste and I'm going to roll them up like cinnamon rolls/roulade and slice them crossways.

YUMMY!

Will report how that experiment goes tomorrow.... :)

Birthday Cake!

You say frittata, I say tortilla.

Tortillas in Spain are less like Mexican tortillas and more like a frittata. My friend Aimee made me one in grad school. She learned how to make them when she was a foreign exchange student there in undergrad. But, I haven't cooked/eaten one since.

Until now.

We came across a recipe for Spanish Tortilla with Chorizo from the most recent Williams-Sonoma recipe collection. We didn't have the (supposedly) required frittata pan, but Gropius masterfully made the tortilla without it and I was in awe, both of his prowess and how good it tasted! The recipe was appealing in part because we only needed Manchego cheese and potatoes (we had everything else already in our larder). To help keep our cholesterol levels down, we invited Derellek over to enjoy it with us:




Gropius added his own special touch to the recipe with some chanterelle mushrooms that we got for free because the checker at the store couldn't spell chanterelle and was looking for them in the "s" list of fruits/veggies. We enjoyed the tortilla with a side of sauteed Swiss Chard from our garden and a nice white wine from Bogle that Derellek brought over:


Then, we finished off the meal with frozen avocado pie and a round (or three) of dominoes. Good times!

Tomato Tart

I used the last of our Russian heirloom 'Paul Robeson' along with some of our Swiss heirloom 'Rose d'Bern' and some Romas that we bought at the farmers market to make a tomato tart for dinner. A simple pate brisee (savory pie crust) smeared with tasty mustard and lots of shredded smoked Fontina cheese (the only type of Fontina that Whole Paycheck had) and then layered with tasty, tasty tomatoes. Once it was done, I put a little basil over the top and we had a wonderful dinner!

Avocado Pie

Yeah, you heard me right--frozen avocado pie. And anyone familiar with my eating habits knows that I'm not a big fan of avocado. But this pie is TASTY! Gropius ordered some on our last day in Taos at Orlando's and I was converted. As soon as we got home, I found several recipes online and concocted my own:

2 avocados
juice of 2 limes
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (~14 oz)
3 oz of cream cheese
graham cracker crust

Blend the first 4 ingredients together and pour into the crust. Place in freezer (preferably overnight) until ready to serve. We let ours thaw for a couple of hours in the fridge first. It's great with whipped cream, too.